The Top DSM Community on the Web

For 1990-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, and Galant VR-4 Owners. Log in to remove most ads.

Please Support STM Tuned
Please Support STM Tuned

driveshaft / transfer case rattle

This site may earn a commission from merchant
affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

tim_korn_99

15+ Year Contributor
216
0
Aug 3, 2004
Bentonville, Arkansas
I've posted about this a few times before, but no one seemed to have an answer at all....
after some long searching, i found a post of a person who had the same problem as me.
http://www.dsmtuner.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143347&highlight=driveshaft

there's a link. does anyone have a follow-up to that?? did it ever get fixed? i know for a fact that my transfer case is not leaking at all. my car is a 97 talon. i know the transfer case has never been replaced either.
His problem describes mine to a tee.... always thought it was a noisy heatshield, until i got underneath the car. with the car on a lift, and running, you can hold the revs at pretty much anything above 2500rpm, and it makes a horrible rattle noise. you can put your hand on the driveshaft and feel it. its up at the front where it connects to the transfer case. i've been to 3 mechanics, been on the phone with 2 mitsu dealerships, and still no answers.
just the other day, my front-most u-joint on the driveshaft failed. i was just backing out of my driveway, and the dang thing fell on the ground. i think that it was due to the vibration. i really want to get this thing fixed, but i dont know what to do.
If ANYONE has some info on this, i would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks
-Tim
 
while there is no booming sound associated with my car, there is this horribly loud, hard to explain rattle. it happens at anything around or above 2500rpm. 3000-4000rpm is the worst. you can just be parked, and free rev it to those rpms, and the horrible sound is there. when driving, if im accellerating, then it doesnt make the sound, but decel and cruising will produce the sound. i originally thought it may have been a u-joint causing this problem, so i bought one from a mitsu dealer, but when we got the car on the lift, the u-joints were fine.... the sound is coming from the dang transfer case collar area.
just the other day, my u-joint came apart, and im pretty sure it was due to the vibration over time. i still havnt fixed it yet. not looking forward to it at all.
 
no no no, it can be the transfer case... that's the only place to rattle right there. i can put my hand on it while it is rattling, and feel it... it has nothing to do with the rotation of the driveline at all. its where the driveshaft slips onto the transfer case tail section. all the splines look fine though. i dont know what i need to replace.
 
I would probably start looking into your tranny, it seems that's where all the trouble is coming from, but you cannot see it untill it exits outside at which point you can see/feel it on the t-case. And like the previous post said, it cant be the tcase because the car isnt moving, so it has to be inside the tranny.

Perhaps some loosely tightened bolts on the inside?! *ouch* .. maybe you had your tranny oil changed by an idiot, who knows, but from the way you describe it, it sounds pretty violent, and I would be scared to drive that thing anywhere except to the nearest shop.
 
i dont think it is inside the tranny... because, with the driveshaft removed from the transfer case, there is no rattle... i tried that today.
Also, i did find another rattle that wasnt noticeable because of the driveshaft rattle. It was my driver side CV shaft. it was loose. one of the boots was laced open. I'll be replacing that and the u-joint on the driveshaft tomorrow. hopefully there wont be anymore annoying sounds, but i kinda doubt it.
I'll keep everyone updated.
-Tim
 
I'm having what seems to be the exact same problem with my car right now....Did you fix the problem???
 
I have a similar problem. Except with me the car shakes ONLY when I put it in reverse and give it gas. Crazy. I really hope its not the t-case...
 
I have a similar problem. Except with me the car shakes ONLY when I put it in reverse and give it gas. Crazy. I really hope its not the t-case...

That could be your carrier bearings. Mine does that. I get it in both directions, but I can hear the drive shaft smack the exhaust when in reverse
 
There was a driveshaft recall, where they replace the front yoke/slipshaft (that goes into the transfer case) they install a new yoke and universal joint. I only know this because I want to get a new U joint for the rear and the parts guy that I deal with gave me the "recall kit" because it was half the price of the u joint alone.
 
I just replaced all my u-joints. Only 39 bucks for the parts @ O'Reilly's. Would have been 10 bucks cheaper, but they only had two if the $9 u-joints, so I had to buy a $19 one. It didn't help my proglem, so now I know it is the carrier bearings.

I'm going to do the "thump fix", but I am going to suspend the driveshaft vertically so I can avoid the bearings causing a vibration because they are filled off-center (already experienced that one).
 
I just replaced all my u-joints. Only 39 bucks for the parts @ O'Reilly's. Would have been 10 bucks cheaper, but they only had two if the $9 u-joints, so I had to buy a $19 one. It didn't help my proglem, so now I know it is the carrier bearings.

I'm going to do the "thump fix", but I am going to suspend the driveshaft vertically so I can avoid the bearings causing a vibration because they are filled off-center (already experienced that one).

My O'reilly u-joint at the rear diff lasted about 20 hard launches before the cap busted. The OEM ones are solid and the cap is also a solid piece with the seal inside. The O'reilly (or any parts house) are cross-drilled grease-able joints that are weaker than the OEM units. You can get the recall kit as mentioned for about $35 and harvest the u-joint from it.
 
My O'reilly u-joint at the rear diff lasted about 20 hard launches before the cap busted. The OEM ones are solid and the cap is also a solid piece with the seal inside. The O'reilly (or any parts house) are cross-drilled grease-able joints that are weaker than the OEM units. You can get the recall kit as mentioned for about $35 and harvest the u-joint from it.

All three u-joints I purchased and installed are not grease-able. They are solid, so were the end-caps. They must have changed the parts they buy.
 
Stupid question but where are the carrier bearings and how do you replace them.
 
All three u-joints I purchased and installed are not grease-able. They are solid, so were the end-caps. They must have changed the parts they buy.

I wish I had a picture but I think I already threw it away. It did not have a grease zerk so it wasn't greaseable, but the cap broke.
 
Stupid question but where are the carrier bearings and how do you replace them.

They are the large rubber disks that the 3-piece drive-shaft runs through. There are two of them. They are kind-of a pain to replace, since you have to disassemble everything and remove them with a puller. I assume you could have a machine shop replace them for you. They cost 85-90 bucks each online

I wish I had a picture but I think I already threw it away. It did not have a grease zerk so it wasn't greaseable, but the cap broke.

Well, my TSi has a motor out of a GS with all the turbo accessories installed, so I do not see the power of a true turbo motor due to the almost guaranteed boost blow-by on the HC rings, so these u-joints should hold up fine for now.
 
Support Vendors who Support the DSM Community
Boosted Fabrication ECM Tuning ExtremePSI Fuel Injector Clinic Innovation Products Jacks Transmissions JNZ Tuning Kiggly Racing Morrison Fabrications MyMitsubishiStore.com RixRacing RockAuto RTM Racing STM Tuned

Latest posts

Build Thread Updates

Vendor Updates

Latest Classifieds

Back
Top